U-boats, also known as submarines, have been a popular topic for many years due to their ability to travel underwater. These vessels were first used in combat in World War I by Germany and quickly proved to be a game-changer. One question that is often asked about U-boats is whether or not they can fire underwater, and the answer is both yes and no.
In World War I, U-boats did have the ability to fire torpedoes underwater. These torpedoes would be launched from a submerged tube and would travel through the water to their intended target. However, early U-boat torpedoes were notoriously unreliable, often failing to hit their intended target, often because of poor quality control in the manufacturing process.
During World War II, U-boats had advanced torpedo technology that made them more effective in combat. They also had the ability to fire their torpedoes from deeper depths, which made them more difficult for the enemy to detect. Nevertheless, torpedoes were still fired from surface ships at longer range than was possible with U-boats.
Another way that U-boats could “fire” underwater was with anti-ship missiles. The second type of anti-ship missile mounted on a U-boat was the Submarine Harpoon. It had a range of around 127 kilometers (70 nautical miles).
In terms of gunnery, U-boats were equipped with a small deck gun for surface engagements. During the war, they were used mainly as defensive weapons against aircraft. These guns were mounted on the deck of the submarine and could fire on surface targets. However, they could not be fired while the U-boat was submerged; instead, they were used when the vessel was surfaced, and thus were relatively ineffective.
While U-boats did have the ability to fire torpedoes and anti-ship missiles underwater, they could not fire traditional guns while submerged. Nevertheless, the torpedo technology that U-boats utilized was a major factor in the warfare of the time, and made these vessels a formidable presence on the battlefield.